Personnel records for a Dayton firefighter arrested Saturday on suspicion of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and driving while intoxicated reveals he has been disciplined multiple times by the city for criminal convictions and for other reasons.
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In 2015, Jacob Freels, 36, faced civil service charges through the city for having his license suspended following his OVI arrest. The city charged that employees must have driver’s licenses and that his actions were not law abiding.
Fire Department rules and regulations say firefighters are responsible for their conduct on or off duty and they “shall not deceive nor evade any law, ordinance, rule or order.”
The city found Freels guilty of the charges and terminated his employment. But city officials said he won his job back after a civil service appeal.
In May 2014, Freels pleaded no contest to two civil service charges through the city related to him being found guilty of drunken driving and disorderly conduct in Vandalia Municipal Court.
He was suspended for 48 hours on one charge and suspended 24 hours on the other, civil service records show.
The city said Freels’ actions constituted “conduct unbecoming” for a public employee and firefighters are supposed to be law-abiding and should not act in ways that “bring reproach or unfavorable reflection,” according to the civil service findings.
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In 2011, Freels was suspended after being found guilty of a civil service charge of conduct unbecoming a public employee. The civil service charge was related to his conviction for a misdemeanor crime, his personnel records show.
Freels faced two misdemeanor criminal charges for allegedly falsely reporting to 911 dispatch that his vehicle had been stolen and for obstructing official business, according to Vandalia Municipal Court records.
The false alarm charge was dismissed, but he was found guilty of obstruction and was fined and given a suspended 60 day jail sentence, the records indicate. He also was found guilty of a minor misdemeanor violation for failing to control his vehicle
In 2010, he was verbally reprimanded for using sick leave six times in 12 months, according to records in his personnel file.
Freels was taken into custody on the 1900 block of Bartley Road after a Butler Twp. police officer spotted him standing next to a white pickup truck he had reportedly crashed into a DP&L pole, according to a report.
Our reporting partner, News Center 7, reached out to Freels and he has declined to comment on his arrests and his job status.
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